Thursday, January 7, 2010

Meeting Reminder

Metrolink's Board will decide on the fate of IE-OC line weekend service tomorrow, as well as a host of other proposed service reductions and fare increases that could take effect as soon as February. They meet at 10:00 am tomorrow at 818 W. 7th St., 12th Floor, Los Angeles. Interested parties can join me aboard Riverside Line train #409, departing downtown Riverside at 8:15 am, or can catch San Bernardion Line train #317. Coronites and southern Riversiders can catch IE-OC Line train #809 and transfer at Orange to OC Line train #685. All of these trains end up at LA Union Station around 9:45, and from there it's a quick ride on the Metro Red Line (still free with your Metrolink ticket) to 7th/Metro Center, which is meeting-adjacent.

Reading through the agenda, it appears that some progress has been made on service changes. The Board is no longer considering canceling all OC or IE-OC Line weekend service: OC Line service will be cut in half, for a total of 4 round trips per day, and IE-OC Line service will be reduced to 1 round trip per day. Yes, you read that right, one trip per day. The specific cuts have yet to be identified, and Beach Train service remains safe. The San Bernardino Line may also lose Saturday trains 372, 373, 378, and 379, the 6pm run out of L.A. and the late-night run, and Sunday trains 356 and 361, a single round trip that runs around lunch hour.

The I.E. may also lose weekday service: IE-OC Line trains 852/853, a lunch hour round trip.

Interesting to note is that SCRRA, according to its own Board meeting agenda, has several million in unspent funding in its accounts left over from prior budget years, more than enough to cover this budget shortfall three times over. However, due to the constraints of the agency's structure, to actually spend that money would take actions from the various county transportation commissions to permit them to do that. County transportation commissions are hurting right now, and they may very well simply ask for that money back. We should encourage SCRRA, SANBAG and RCTC to do the right thing with that money- spend it on running trains.

3 comments:

At the January 5, 2010 evening City Council meeting, during public comments http://ridinginriverside.blogspot.com/2010/01/meeting-reminder.html#comment-form (I was the last to speak at public comments) , I held up a banner with the Five Before Midnight website and web address, and the Riding in Riverside website. (Should say I had a verbal typo, I think I said people could learn about the Fox on your website. Not sure about that glitch)

Today I looked at the video online. While the City show closeups of City Council and staff or invited guests, they generally show the public from a distance so you you see the person and lots more, seats behind on each side, such that you cannot see their faces so well or their expressions.

But because I held up a banner during public comments so people watching at home could see the web addresses -- to make it easier for them to understand the webaddress -- the City instead showed me from a GREAT DISTANCE FROM THE BACK so most people would not even know I was holding up the banner, and may not even know who I was, just a dark figure in the distance.

This was done in past years and the people discussed this matter with the council and the disrespectful practice of showing speakers only from the rear, and in this case from a very great distance, was stopped. Yet was re-instituted on Jan 1 because someone at the City was ANGRY that I was telling people about these two websites. Should say though they showed me from the rear, that they did not block out my words or cut me out entirely, as people have told me the Council did in past years.

The City lets people use graphics to explain this and that, mostly on the computer but people do bring in graphics.

This type of behavior is typical of the undemocratic and unprofessional behavior of how the Riverside City Council chamber is allowed to run.

Another glitch, I thought I was pasting in the link to the Cities webaddress to see videos of City Council meetings as well as other videos available online but inadvertantly inserted a web address for your website.

The link to the City Council site is

http://65.49.32.146/ppportal/agenda/webcast.aspx

I know the above web address does not say RIVERSIDE or .gov so one may not want to click on that site directly. It can be reached via the City Website as described below:

For those who are skeptical there is a clickable link to the WEBCASTS - LIVE & ARCHIVED COUNCIL MEETINGS on the Riverside City Clerk webpage, on the right panel, under the title above in capitals.

This is the link to the City Clerk's webpage http://www.riversideca.gov/city_clerk/

Once on the page, click on PLAY VIDEO to the right of the 1/5/2010 evening Council meeting.

Though I could not attend your meeting in LA, as it conflicted with a meeting I chair, I did hand out the fact that the meeting was held and the link to your blog. May not be likely that folks will visit but one never knows.